Agbahoungba Symphorien

LEA/FSA-UAC in Benin and ICED in Ghana · Legumes Breeding/Legumes Systems Research

Cette étude vise à déterminer la valeur du bois et la part du revenu des ménages allouée aux dépenses de consommation du bois dans les zones de mangroves des sites RAMSAR 1017 et 1018 au Bénin en vue de mieux planifier les programmes de reboisement des zones périphériques des sites RAMSAR et de réduire les pressions sur les forêts naturelles. Des e...

Urbanization is a current concern, particularly in Africa, where it is expected to continue and increasingly threaten the effectiveness of plant biodiversity, natural carbon sinks, and the sustainability of cities. This paper investigates the structural parameters and carbon storage potential of trees in the land use units of the city of Cotonou in...

Climate change presents scenarios of extreme temperature variations that will limit agricultural productivity further when the need for efficient production systems cannot be over emphasized. Aside breeding for tolerance, the development of new varieties of crops such as Cowpea, it is important to evaluate the temperature tolerance of new varieties...

Social norms drive women to practice unpaid caring activities that constitute an important barrier to their access to paid activities within the labour market in Benin. Assessing how far unpaid caring activities affect their business activities will help to improve the livelihoods of women. A survey was carried out in the district of Ouidah, with 3...

Edamame has many nutritional and human health benefits and has the potential to overcome malnutrition, a common scourge among West African populations. This study aims to identify sensory preference criteria in order to select edamame varieties that meet the organoleptic needs of potential consumers in Benin. Ten soybean varieties were selected on...

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) is an important food and nutrition security crop in Benin, though its production is constrained by absence of information necessary for strategic planning. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diversity of preferred traits and production constraints of cowpea in southern Benin. A survey was conducted i...

Vegetable soybean (Glycine max L. Merr.) is a highly nutritious crop in Africa whose attributes make it a product of choice to formulate diets with numerous human health benefits. The crop is still novel in West Africa, but is making inroads in many countries of the region. The objective of this study was to evaluate selected vegetable soybean vari...

Socio-demographic factors are often responsible for the persistent neglect of orphan crops such as Kersting’s groundnut (Macrotyloma geocarpum) in sub-Saharan Africa.The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of socio-demographic factors on production of Kersting’s groundnut (KG), as a basis for informing policy and development ef...

Swift delivery of quality seeds to farming communities is a fundamental step in mainstreaming the value chain of orphan crops. The objective of this study was to characterise seed production and delivery systems of the orphan Kersting’s groundnut (KG) [Macrotyloma geocarpum (Harms) Maréchal & Baudet] and their influence on seed quality in Benin. A...

Identification of genes associated with bruchid resistance variations in cowpea accessions would help breeders to generate new cowpea cultivars with improved resistance and quality. In this work, 107 cowpea collections from various areas in six countries were phenotyped for their responses to Callosobruchus maculatus and genotyped with Single Nucle...

The development and promotion of biofortified foods plants are a sustainable strategy for supplying essential micronutrients for human health and nutrition. We set out to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with carotenoid content in cowpea sprouts. The contents of carotenoids, including lutein, zeaxanthin, and β-carotene in sprouts o...

Edamame , has many nutritional and human health benefits and is likely to overcome malnutrition, a common scourge among West African populations. This study aims to identify sensory preference criteria in order to select edamame varieties that meet the organoleptic needs of potential consumers in Benin. Ten soybean varieties were selected on the ba...

Cowpea is a one important legume crop in Sub-Saharan Africa due to its high content of protein and other nutrients. However, seeds of cowpea varieties are destroyed by Callosobruchus maculatus in storage. This study investigated various biochemical compounds of susceptible and resistant cowpea genotypes, to determine the biochemical compounds under...

Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp] is a globally important food security crop. However, it is susceptible to pest and disease; hence, constant breeding efforts based on its diversity are required for its improvement. The present study aims to investigate the genetic diversity, population structure, and linkage disequilibrium (LD) among 274 cowpea...

Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] is a main legume food cultivated for its leaves and grains in Benin. However, cowpea production is limited by insect pests with flower bud thrips being the most damaging and can cause up to 100% yield loss. Host plant resistance is the best strategy to control the pest. This study aimed to screen Benin cowpea g...

Kersting’s groundnut [ Macrotyloma geocarpum (Harms) Maréchal & Baudet] (KG) is a nutritious, subterranean grain legume in West and Central Africa. Only limited information is available on the morphological traits that can discriminate accessions; without such information, appropriate breeding strategies cannot be devised. This study aimed to ident...

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) is an essential legume crop in Benin. However, the level of genetic diversity of several of cultivars available in the country is not well known. To manage efficiently Benin cowpea germplasm, the present study aimed at evaluating the genetic diversity of Benin cowpea collection. Fifty cowpea accessions sourced fro...

Kersting's groundnut (Macrotyloma geo-carpum (Harms) Maréchal & Baudet) is an important source of protein and essential nutrients that contribute to food security in West Africa. However, the crop is still underexploited by the populations and under-researched by the scientific community. This study aimed to investigate the genetic diversity and po...

Cowpea bruchid (Callosobruchus maculatus Fab.) is the most important storage pest causing significant economic losses. Development of bruchid resistant cowpea varieties is the most sustainable strategy for controlling bruchid. However, information regarding the nature of gene action governing the resistance to bruchid is limited for cowpea genotype...

Genomic selection (GS) can accelerate variety improvement when training set (TS) size and its relationship with the breeding set (BS) are optimized for prediction accuracies (PAs) of genomic prediction (GP) models. Sixteen GP algorithms were run on phenotypic best linear unbiased predictors (BLUPs) and estimators (BLUEs) of resistance to both fall...

Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) designate goods of biological origin other than timber from natural, modi ed or managed forested landscapes. A number of short cycle and cultivated species contributing to food security that remain traditional tend to get less research attention, training and extension. Such plant resources are termed Orphan Crops...

Genomic selection (GS) can accelerate variety improvement when training set (TS) size, and its relationship with the breeding set (BS) are optimized for prediction accuracies (PA) of genomic prediction (GP) models. Sixteen GP algorithms were run on phenotypic best linear unbiased predictors (BLUPs) and estimators (BLUEs) of resistance to both fall...

Genomic selection (GS) can accelerate variety release by shortening the variety development phase when factors that influence prediction accuracies (PA) of genomic prediction (GP) models such as training set (TS) size and relationship with the breeding set (BS) are optimized beforehand. In this study, PAs for the resistance to fall armyworm (FAW) a...

Kersting’s groundnut is an important source of protein and essential nutrients that contribute to food security in West Africa. However, the crop is still underexploited by the populations and under-researched by the scientific community. This study aimed to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of 217 Kersting’s groundnut acce...

Background: Genetic diversity in a germplasm is crucial for continuous improvement of crop varieties. A panel of 274 cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) accessions of unknown genetic diversity was assembled from diverse sources. This study used 3127 SNP markers, generated with the diversity array technology (DArT), to assess genetic diversity, population...

Background: Genetic diversity in a germplasm is crucial for continuous improvement of crop varieties. A panel of 274 cowpea ( Vigna unguiculata L.) accessions of unknown genetic diversity was assembled from diverse sources. This study used 3127 SNP markers, generated with the diversity array technology (DArT), to assess genetic diversity, populatio...

Genomic selection (GS) can accelerate variety release by shortening variety development phase when factors that influence prediction accuracies (PA) of genomic prediction (GP) models such as training set (TS) size and relationship with the breeding set (BS) are optimized beforehand. In this study, PAs for the resistance to fall armyworm (FAW) and m...

Several species of herbivores feed on maize in field and storage setups, making the development of multiple insect resistance a critical breeding target. In this study, an association mapping panel of 341 tropical maize lines was evaluated in three field environments for resistance to fall armyworm (FAW), whilst bulked grains were subjected to a ma...

Several herbivores feed on maize in field and storage setups making the development of multiple-insect resistance a critical breeding target. In this study, an association mapping panel of 341 tropical maize lines was evaluated in three field environments for resistance to FAW (fall armyworm) whilst bulked grains were subjected to MW (maize weevil)...

Several herbivores feed on maize in field and storage setups making the development of multiple-insect resistance a critical breeding target. In this study, an association mapping panel of 341 tropical maize lines was evaluated in three field environments for resistance to FAW whilst bulked grains were subjected to MW bioassay, genotyped with Diver...

Post-harvest loss in cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) is essentially caused by bruchid (Callosobruchus maculatus F.), the most damaging storage pest causing up to 95% loss of produce kept for long in non-treated conditions. In managing storage pests, host plant resistance proves to be a better approach than chemicals control, especially for food produ...

Food and nutritional insecurity constitute a main challenge in most Sub-Sahara African countries. Efforts to provide diets with sufficient nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and essential minerals should include the introduction of new vegetable and legume crops. Vegetable soybean “edamame”, is a nutritious vegetable legume well kn...

Kumi F, Badji A, Mwila N, Odong T, Ochwo-Ssemakula M, Tusiime G, Gibson P, Biruma M, Prom KL, Cuevas HE, Agbahoungba S, Rubaihayo P. 2019. New sources of sorghum resistant genotypes to downy mildew disease in Uganda. Biodiversitas 20: 3391-3397. Sorghum downy mildew (SDM) disease is still prevalent in Uganda at varying levels of incidence and sever...

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) is a highly nutritious grain legume crop in the world. However, cowpea production is constrained by legume pod borer (Maruca vitrata Fabricius) (LPB), which feeds on various parts of cowpea plant, causing a complete crop failure. An analysis of the existing literature revealed LPB as a serious threat to cowpea p...

Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] is an important food legume. This crop considered as source of dietary protein is also used as a leafy vegetable in many African countries. Its usage as food and animal fodder is focused on food security and diminishing malnutrition particularly in marginal areas. Bruchid (Callosobruchus maculatus) is the most...

It has long been reported that kersting’s groundnut [Macrotyloma geocarpum (Harms) Maréchal & Baudet] is less susceptible to field pests and diseases. Previous reports focused on bruchids and weevils as the major pests exerting biotic stress on the crop. In the process of setting up a breeding program for the crop in Benin, field experiments were e...

Several metabolites are linked to cassava resistance to whitefly. There is limited information however, on the mode of gene action of the metabolites associated with cassava resistance to whitefly (Bemisia tabaci). The objective of the study was to determine the combining abilities and mode of gene action of salicylic acid, antioxidative capacity,...

Sorghum is the third most important staple cereal crop in Uganda after maize and millet. Downy mildew disease is one of the most devastating fungal diseases which limits the production and productivity of the crop. The disease is caused by an obligate fungus, Peronosclerospora sorghi (Weston & Uppal) with varying symptoms. Information on the geneti...

Wild-edible fruits tree (WEFT) species constitute an important source of nutrients but nowadays, these resources are concentrated in the protected areas. This study aimed to evaluate the diversity and distribution pattern of WEFT species in the Lama Forest Reserve in Benin, to provide basics for designing appropriate conservation strategies. An inv...

Cassava resistance to Bemisia tabaci is a result of many plant processes which involve plant biochemical constituents, shown to be affected by genotype and environment. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of genotype × environment interactions on concentrations of tannin, flavonoid, total phenolic content, antioxidative capacity an...

Breeding for resistance to flower bud thrips (Megalurothrips sjostedti) in cowpea has been hindered by the quantitative nature of resistance. To identify simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers associated with resistance to flower bud thrips that could be used for marker-assisted breeding, a F 2 population was generated from a cross between genotypes...

Combinatorial insect attacks on maize leaves, stems, and kernels cause significant yield losses and mycotoxin contaminations. Several small effect quantitative trait loci (QTL) control maize resistance to stem borers and storage pests and are correlated with secondary metabolites. However, efficient use of QTL in molecular breeding requires a synth...

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) ranks as the third most important staple cereal food crop in Uganda after maize and millet. The crop is hampered by several biotic stresses of which Sorghum Downy Mildew disease is one of the most devastating diseases. The disease is caused by a soil-borne fungus Peronosclerospora sorghi but it is also air-borne through co...

The flower bud thrips, Megalurothrips sjostedti, is a major pest of cowpea that can cause yield losses of up to 100%. The use of cowpea cultivars resistant to thrips is among the most promising control measures. Six cultivars were evaluated in 2016 in Uganda for resistance to thrips under field conditions and analyzed for total carbon, total reduci...

Flower thrips [Megalurothrips sjostedti (Trybom)] is the most damaging insect pest on cowpea. However, information regarding the nature of gene action governing the inheritance of resistance to thrips is not available for cowpea genotypes in Uganda. This study was carried out to determine the inheritance pattern of cowpea resistance to flower thrip...

Sorghum is the third most important staple cereal crop in Uganda after maize and millet. Downy mildew disease is one of the most devastating fungal diseases which limits the production and productivity of the crop. The disease is caused by an obligate fungus, Peronosclerospora sorghi (Weston & Uppal) with varying symptoms. Information on the geneti...

Fusarium related root rots have been associated with reduced cowpea productivity in Uganda. Sources of genetic resistance to Fusarium redolens which was found to be the most virulent have been identified but the mode of inheritance of the genes conferring the resistance is unknown. This study aims to investigate how the genes for resistance to F. r...

Yield in legumes is the result of many plant processes, which are usually expressed in yield and have been shown to be affected by management, genotype and environment. The objectives of this study were to assess the extent of genotype x environment interaction and to select the stable cowpea genotypes in Ugandan environments over seasons. Seventy-...

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) is a legume attacked by several field insect pests, with flower thrips (Megalurothrips sjostedti Trybom) being the most damaging. It causes 20 to 100% yield losses. Cowpea constitutes an important source of protein for resource poor households in Africa. The objective of this study was to identify cowpea lines...

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp) is an important source of protein in the diets of many communities in Africa with a grain yield potential of 3.0 t/ha, but in farmers’ fields, it is averaging 0.2 – 0.4 t/ha due to different biotic and abiotic stresses. Several insect pests attack cowpea in the field with flower bud thrips (Megalurothrips sjostedt...

Yield in legumes is the result of many plant processes, which are usually expressed in yield components and have been shown to be affected by management, genotype and environment. Continuous evaluation of available genetic resource to develop high and stable yielding varieties is the panacea to the regional food security conundrum. In this study, 7...

Understanding interactions between forest and the adjacent people is crucial for participative management of forest resources. In order to determine the ecological diversity and the conservation strategies of wild edible fruit tree species (WEFT species) in protected areas, this study was conducted in the Lama Forest Reserve in southern Benin. An i...